Ooh- So, this brings up the possibility that Clara is a companion of more than one doctor- perhaps several, in different time lines depending on how certain events go. Maybe, just maybe, we might get a glimpse of Richard E Grant's alternate 9th doctor from Shalka.(That's just me speculating there obviously but would be very cool) I wonder if there will be any more possible 9th doctors shown- if this does turn out to be the case.

Why would they go to all the trouble to recast Doctor 9 when there are FIVE other Doctor Who actors, all reportedly willing to return to the role. It's a waste of casting. John Hurt can play anyone but why waste him on a past Doctor? Seems like an insult to Tom Baker, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Peter Davison and Paul McCann to cast someone new and not use any of their Doctors instead? And if the argument its a celebration of modern RTD era Who, then John Hurt definitely doesn't fit in the role of the Doctor!

Why would they go to all the trouble to recast Doctor 9 when there are FIVE other Doctor Who actors, all reportedly willing to return to the role. It's a waste of casting. John Hurt can play anyone but why waste him on a past Doctor? Seems like an insult to Tom Baker, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Peter Davison and Paul McCann to cast someone new and not use any of their Doctors instead? And if the argument its a celebration of modern RTD era Who, then John Hurt definitely doesn't fit in the role of the Doctor![/

[quote]

This isn't confirmed i just read and whose to confirm Tom, Peter, Colin, Sylvester and Paul arn't coming back

Why would they go to all the trouble to recast Doctor 9 when there are FIVE other Doctor Who actors, all reportedly willing to return to the role. It's a waste of casting. John Hurt can play anyone but why waste him on a past Doctor? Seems like an insult to Tom Baker, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Peter Davison and Paul McCann to cast someone new and not use any of their Doctors instead? And if the argument its a celebration of modern RTD era Who, then John Hurt definitely doesn't fit in the role of the Doctor![/

QUOTE]

This isn't confirmed i just read and whose to confirm Tom, Peter, Colin, Sylvester and Paul arn't coming back

They haven't been asked and most of them have said so. They are filming now and aren't on any of the sets.

They haven't been asked and most of them have said so. They are filming now and aren't on any of the sets.

Spoiler

thats because they are utilising past scenes with them and CGI. Tom wasn't bothered in the slightest about being asked back, neither was Davison. Colin, Sylvester, Paul are the most miffed but only because they wanted to reprise their role. Plus they won't get royalties for their scenes -

50th Anniversary Special: John Hurt is an incarnation The Doctor himself has forgotten about. In his timeline, this Doctor comes between the 8th and, what we thought was, the 9th. It was this Doctor that fought the Time War, not McGann's or Eccleston's. He was so ashamed, and the Time War was so traumatic, that he regenerated.

We discover that the Hartnell Doctor is running from himself, as it was the Hurt version that advised him to leave Gallifrey in the first place. Hence Hurt’s Doctor’s TARDIS is the same as The First, and will use the interiors built for An Adventure in Space and Time. Notwithstanding this "new" Doctor, the will be no change in their numbering.

At the end of the episode there is a further surprise as The 12th Doctor appears. This shows Smith’s Doctor that his time is nearly over..............

50th Anniversary Special: John Hurt is an incarnation The Doctor himself has forgotten about. In his timeline, this Doctor comes between the 8th and, what we thought was, the 9th. It was this Doctor that fought the Time War, not McGann's or Eccleston's. He was so ashamed, and the Time War was so traumatic, that he regenerated.

We discover that the Hartnell Doctor is running from himself, as it was the Hurt version that advised him to leave Gallifrey in the first place. Hence Hurt’s Doctor’s TARDIS is the same as The First, and will use the interiors built for An Adventure in Space and Time. Notwithstanding this "new" Doctor, the will be no change in their numbering.

At the end of the episode there is a further surprise as The 12th Doctor appears. This shows Smith’s Doctor that his time is nearly over..............

I was just about to speculate that Hurt could be a Doctor that was totally erased from memory. Beaten to it Also- I was thinking during work today that the Great Intelligence itself could be a Doctor that was never to be. An alternate doctor who was erased by some event so that he never existed, except somehow managed to survive as just some sort of bodiless entity. His one motivation is to correct that- probably gone bad somewhere along the line, or just doesn't even remember the beginning or why they started out trying to become a real, living being. they only know that is their goal. And it would mean the doctor as we know them would no longer be.

50th Anniversary Special: John Hurt is an incarnation The Doctor himself has forgotten about. In his timeline, this Doctor comes between the 8th and, what we thought was, the 9th. It was this Doctor that fought the Time War, not McGann's or Eccleston's. He was so ashamed, and the Time War was so traumatic, that he regenerated.

We discover that the Hartnell Doctor is running from himself, as it was the Hurt version that advised him to leave Gallifrey in the first place. Hence Hurt’s Doctor’s TARDIS is the same as The First, and will use the interiors built for An Adventure in Space and Time. Notwithstanding this "new" Doctor, the will be no change in their numbering.

At the end of the episode there is a further surprise as The 12th Doctor appears. This shows Smith’s Doctor that his time is nearly over..............

Matt Smith as the Doctor
??? as The Doctor
Jenna Louise Coleman as Clara Oswald

The Eleventh Hour reaches its final minute, as The Doctor regenerates into his 12th Incarnation.

Sounds plausible in many ways and I can see that...

Spoiler

They might want a fresh start with a new Doctor from the beginning of series 8. I would be a little surprised in some ways if they did a regeneration on Christmas Day though - only because the BBC may be wary about putting out potentially upsetting family viewing then. I more expected them to get Matt to do half of series 8 and regenerate in a mid-season climax ep.

Tbh, though I'd also be surprised if Steven had written the Christmas special yet or even discussed it enough outside of a VERY small circle of people in order for anything to leak. I would've thought he's rather busy with the 50th and he'll write the Christmas ep after that's done. I would presume Matt, Jenna and the execs have an idea of any major changes (like that being Matt's last ep) but I'm not entirely convinced enough people would know yet for there to be leaks.

And isn't Matt in contract until the start of 2014? That either means they've done some contract jiggling to release him early or they potentially won't be filming S8 until 2014.

As for the 50th the only thing I'd wonder is how other elements such as Queen Elizabeth, UNIT, the paintings, Ten and Rose fit into this story.

I agree with others that the notion that he 'died of shame' and forgot about himself sounds entirely cack handed (and also yes the Christmas ep title would then be stupid) so I'd expect there to be a more 'timey wimey' explanation for a new Doctor suddenly appearing.

Beyond editing time for my previous post now but back the hell up a minute...

Spoiler

Hurt COULD be a version of the Doctor that shouldn't exist created by whatever happens in the finale. Timey wimey stuff. That's possible.

But how in the hell can he be a version the Doctor just 'forgot' about? A version who he erased from his own memory due to the trauma of the time war?

Surely that's completely impossible since the WHOLE POINT of Nine was he was damaged and traumatised from what happened in the time war! That WAS his character arc! He bloody knows what he did in the time war because he's told us and it's a repeated damn thing throughout the entire series since the reboot!

Beyond editing time for my previous post now but back the hell up a minute...

Spoiler

Hurt COULD be a version of the Doctor that shouldn't exist created by whatever happens in the finale. Timey wimey stuff. That's possible.

But how in the hell can he be a version the Doctor just 'forgot' about? A version who he erased from his own memory due to the trauma of the time war?

Surely that's completely impossible since the WHOLE POINT of Nine was he was damaged and traumatised from what happened in the time war! That WAS his character arc! He bloody knows what he did in the time war because he's told us and it's a repeated damn thing throughout the entire series since the reboot!

Yeah, it REALLY doesn't work.

Spoiler

Because, like a lot of amnesia patients ( ok- I've only seen it on Casualty, BUT...), he remembers a lot of the events, but others -he doesn't remember. Maybe the John Hurt Doc was only in part of the time war? So Christopher Ecclestone still rememebrs the rest. Or he could be a Doctor that never got to exist in the first place because of some event during the war he was erased from history. BUT, due to the time war, which I imagine is a very, very, wibbly wobbly mess indeed, in the period where he WAS alive and in existence, THIS (what we are about to see) is what he did. And he must be allowed to do whatever it is he does because if he doesn't there would be no need to erase those events and end up where we are today.

Although "the doctor lies", why did Ecclestone bang on about the time war that he was in ?

Because he has experienced it, even if were a previous incarnation who actually participated in it, just as he has experienced every adventure Doctors 1 to 8 have participated in, because each incarnation is of the ONE Time Lord.

Let me get this straight... Hurt is spotted wearing a coat similar to the 9th's and all of a sudden all these rumours emerge that he's a hitherto unknown Doc.? .... Fashion clearly has a heck of a lot to answer for...

Let me get this straight... Hurt is spotted wearing a coat similar to the 9th's and all of a sudden all these rumours emerge that he's a hitherto unknown Doc.? .... Fashion clearly has a heck of a lot to answer for...